Sentara launches virtual nursing across hospitals

After 15 years as a bedside nurse at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Cheryl Gallahue sought a new challenge. She found it by becoming one of an inaugural team of virtual nurses who interact with patients via TV screens.

Sentara launched virtual nursing at Norfolk General in November 2024 to provide better support for bedside nurses and patients by reducing administrative workload and assisting with patient admissions, education and discharges. Virtual nursing will be in all Sentara hospitals by the end of October, with 65 registered nurses based at a central location and delivering 24/7 video coverage to 1,770 beds on 73 medical-surgical and intermediate care units.

“We’re already making a difference,” says Gallahue, noting that unlike bedside nurses, virtual nurses are not juggling multiple patients simultaneously. “We don’t go from room to room or give medications, but we’re interacting with patients and getting to know them. That cuts down on readmissions because we have more time to educate patients about why they were prescribed certain medications and how to take them.”

Virtual nurses typically spend 30 minutes to one hour with each patient. “They camera in and do any kind of data collection that doesn’t require hands-on care,” says Jaime Carroll, Sentara’s vice president of clinical support services. “Throughout the hospital stay, they teach on new medications, disease processes and discharge instructions.”

Although patients can opt out of the program, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Carroll says. “Patients get undivided attention from virtual nurses because they are not seeing other patients at the same time. They are really good at making that connection even though they’re on a TV screen.”

Danielle Gillespie, a unit coordinator at Norfolk General, was initially skeptical about virtual nursing. “I was worried that bedside and virtual nurses would clash, but it’s been amazing,” she says. “It gives me more time to provide basic care and focus on other things going on with my patients so I don’t feel rushed.”

Gillespie said virtual nurses can take time to dig a little deeper and learn more about patients’ family medical histories. “Patients feel like they can ask questions and don’t feel rushed.”

Sentara requires its virtual nurses to have worked at least five years in medical-surgical or intensive care units. Carroll explains, “We want experience on the other end of the camera to support the nurses at the bedside.”